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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. land — to come down
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. land — ground
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — a country
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. date — the fruit
  22. object — to protest
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. object — an aim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com